Album Review: Growing Horns - The Essence of Suffering
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
When you see a press release that says the band’s music is for fans of Crowbar, Goatsnake and Down, then it’s bound to grab my attention. But when you dig deeper and hear the noise emanating out of your speakers throughout from the Belgian quintet, you’ll sit down, nod and raise a glass to their mighty fine efforts.
This self-released album from Growing Horns, is going to blow you away, the heaviness of the riffs from Didier and Sven on guitars is like wading through treacle, whilst wearing lead boots, it’s uncompromising and punishing, whilst the heavyweight rhythm section of Wim on bass and Kev in drums, is both pummelling and exhausting, and combines well with the raw energy of vocalist Daf.
There are 7 tracks in total, beginning with the album title track, “The Essence of Suffering (A Tale of Spite)” that has a soft piano intro with spoken words over the top for a dramatic effect. It adds to the tension of the song, building into a crescendo of noise, with a heavy bass line joining before the and explode into life. It’s like a sledgehammer, bludgeoning on your skull, slow and painful but wonderfully executed. The bass is key to this song, as it dictates the tempo, and Wim does a damn fine job on this song.
As the band say, “there’s no gloss, no pretence, just pure cathartic release” and “Lust for Knife” continues this theme, with a bruising song and growling vocal. The riffs are simple and effective, that will get people smiling and nodding along in appreciation. They slow it down in the mid-section, which sounds like a journey into hell itself, but it works exceptionally well in the context of the song. You can feel the pain in each drum being hit, each guitar string being plucked and every note being hit in the vocal, it’s relentless and a joy to listen to.
“Blood in the Water” is huge. It’s over 9 minutes long and builds up the atmosphere so that it blossoms into a torturous soundscape with Daf’s vocal range on full display. It’s a bit of an epic song in every sense of the word, that will keep you enthralled from the first to the last note. Some parts made me feel cold, as the guitars are harrowing and the bass is rumbling however, it never deters from the overall slow burning of pain that pours out.
“Godvergeten” picks up the pace with a military style drum start, before the slow-release returns and it feels like you are being submerged as your killer holds your head in dark, murky waters. It’s evil and sinister, with a chilling riff that leads into “Dope Fuck” which has a simple drum intro from Kev, before the song evolves, with a cleaner opening riff, and gets heavier as it continues.
The penultimate track “Cutthroat Democrisy” has a sumptuous bassline matched with a thunderous drum sound, to feed the rhythm. The guitar sound then elevates the song as the sludge comes to the fore, and it hits you right in the guts. It’s akin to a shot of slowly released poison being injected into your arms, and you are powerless to stop it. The vocals are scary but add to the drama and it’s my favourite track. It finally comes to an end with “Umbilical Noose (A Tale of Wrath)” and I get a whiff of Raging Speedhorn in the opening riff and grows from there. Growing Horns have crafted songs that hit you like a wall of despair and need to be played as loud as possible.
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